THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1883.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6825, 2 October 1883, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1883.

Sojie time ago we published the information received from our own correspondent in the Sandwich Islands, to the effect that the King and Parlialiament of that group had united in a protest against any further annexation in Polynesia by sovereign or colonial powers. We are privileged in being permitted to place to-day before our readers the text of the protest, which, as announced by cablegram, has just been presented to the British Government, and, as we are aware, will be simultaneously presented to all the Governments of Europe, aa well as those

of the United States and various oti« sovereign stated on the American Con tinent. It will be noticed that the document has all the elevation of conception and dignity of diction which become a State paper, and though we may be disposed to smile at the am bitious action of the little kingdom, the event is not one to be ignored. The Hawaiian Kingdom is confessedly I a remarkable illustration of the capacity of a dark and, so called, inferior race for constitutional self-government; and if any country has a right to raise its voice against the onward march of the pale face, in the absorption of the interests of the coloured races, that country is Hawaii, where peace, order, and good government have shown themselves in the contentment, happiness, J and prosperity of a people who are but a generation removed from savage life. Indeed, it is impossible for any man of right feeling to suppress a sense of respect for a people, themselves in the enjoyment of free and civilised institutions, and longing to see their kindred races raised to the same rank in the scale of humanity and national life, instead of being swept to destruction by the besom of civilisation; and we do not hesitate to say that if the plea of the Hawaiian Government finds favour with any one of the great Governments to which it is addressed, sufficient to give it the footing of recognition and respectability, we may hear more than we expect, or possibly desire, of this confederation as a factor in Polynesian history. The Hawaiian Kingdom was itself an experiment that elicited very keen interest among civilised peoples, and it has been confessedly a success, and it may be justly argued why could not other groups of islands, peopled by a precisely similar race, furnish similar successful and interesting experiments, to the benefit of the commerce of the world as well as the people themselves; and more so now than ever, when these people should have not only the sympathy of the great nations of the earth, as Hawaii had, but the example and the aid of that successful little kingdom in walking in the paths of national life. We confess that there is much in the plea that appeals to the best feelings of the heart; and as sentiment is one of the most potential levers in moving society, let us not be surprised if the little cloud, not bigger than a man's hand, may shadow over the wide Pacific.

How it will comport with our own ideas of territorial extension and colonisation, is of course a separate question, and it is impossible to avoid seeing that there are many and great difficulties attending on the scheme of Polynesian federation introduced by the Hawaiian Government to the nations of the world. To go no further, the interested desire to possess naval and coaling stations throughout the Pacific will make some nations chary in giving their approval to a scheme intended to attach all the islands and groups of the Pacific not actually seized and colonised; and the sentiment which found gratification in fostering one little group into a toy nation, as an experiment full of interesting possi- ; bilities, might not be able to go so far as overcoming the national desire'for strategic points and dependencies, whether for the extension of commerce or providing fresh spheres for enterprise or outlets for surplus population. Racial affinities are in the present times the most potential of all forces, whether in breaking up, or grouping, or binding together nations, and are at the bottom of all the seething political troubles with which the civilised world is harassed; and the action of the Hawaiian Government in pleading for the independence and autonomy of their kindred of the dark-skinned races of Polynesia is entirely'in accord with the spirit of the age. What effect the protest will have remains to be seen; but no one can question the reasonableness of the action taken by the Parliament and King at Honolulu, or the dignified and becoming terms in which their protest and plea are couched.